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It’s the middle of the night. You are in bed, maybe asleep, maybe trying to get to sleep. All of a sudden there is a banging on the door, and shouts of, “Police! Open! Police!” Or maybe there is regular, constant knocking and someone asking, “Anyone home? Hello?” Startled, you jump out of bed, go to the door and open it. Maybe you speak English, maybe you do not. Two uniformed police officers are at the door and say there has been an accident, they need to see your son, your husband, or your wife. What do you do?

In Minnesota, there are many levels of marijuana related criminal charges. The amount of marijuana which a person possesses or sells determines the level of offense. Possession or sale of 42.5 grams or more of marijuana can lead to felony charges. Consequences for felony level marijuana related offenses range from a year and a day to 30 years in prison.

Less serious marijuana related offenses include petty misdemeanor possession of a small amount of marijuana or misdemeanor possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle. Both possession of a small amount of marijuana and...

A controlled substance charge in and of itself likely means that your noncitizen client has the attention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), and that ICE will monitor the proceedings. ICE may detain your client during the pendency of the criminal case, and the charge alone can cause your client to lose the ability to remain in the United States. A controlled substance offense subjects a person to mandatory ICE detention with no chance of bond, depending on the facts, and even a favorable criminal outcome may still trigger immigration consequences.

On August 1, 2016, a new Minnesota law came into effect criminalizing acts involving what is commonly known as “revenge porn.” The law is intended to protect people from the actions of jilted partners who post on the internet or otherwise distribute sexual images of their ex’s, often including names and contact information. Minnesota Statute 617.261, entitled “Nonconsensual Dissemination of Private Sexual Images,” makes it a crime “to intentionally disseminate” a private sexual image of another, identifiable person. Under this law, the person who disseminated the image...

In a case published on October 19, 2016, the Minnesota Supreme Court decided an issue long debated in Minnesota Courts: Is a BB gun a firearm under Minnesota Criminal Law. The issue was presented when the State charged Mr. Haywood with violating Minn. Stat. § 609.165, subd.1b, which criminalizes the possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. The Court’s analysis is also relevant to any case in which an individual is charged with possession or use of a firearm when the term “firearm” is not specifically defined by statute.

For years, lawyers in Minnesota have argued about the validity of the Minnesota Implied Consent Law and the corresponding criminalization of refusal to take a blood, breath, or urine test. In Minnesota, as in many other states, in order to enforce laws against drunk driving, statute establishes that by applying for a driver’s license, you have impliedly consented to a test if there is probable cause to believe that you have been drinking prior to operating the vehicle.[1] If you are asked to take a test and you refuse to comply, the refusal results in a more...

When is a Search not a Search? One way in which the United States protects its people from being subjected to random whims of the State and errant police is by protecting our right to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” This right is established in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states, “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and...

In January 2015, a new expungement standard came into effect in Minnesota. The law expanded the types of crimes eligible for expungement. It also gave courts broader power to seal records of State agencies instead of limiting the court to sealing its records anymore.

As with any new law, there were some gaps that left lawyers and judges with questions. The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently answered one of the big questions: how should the court treat felony convictions later deemed misdemeanors under Minn. Stat. § 609.13, subd. 1(2). The question was how should the court treat the...

The immigration consequences of a conviction for solicitation of a prostitute for several decades was not considered categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (hereinafter “CIMT”), although Wilson Law Group cautioned that it was potentially such a crime. Recently, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Gomez-Gutierrez v. Lynch definitively categorizing the 2006 version of the Minnesota solicitation of a prostitute statute as a CIMT. No. 14-3374, 2016 WL 362427, at*4 (8th Cir. Jan. 29, 2016).

Wilson Law Group recently became aware of a disturbing new trend relating to non-immigrant visa (NIV) holders. Those in the United States with student (F), employment-based (H-1B), exchange (J-1) visas, and investor visas (E-2), among others, are affected. Those NIV holders who, during their stay in the US, are arrested for a minor criminal incident are receiving correspondence from the Department of State, often via email or phone, indicating their visas have been cancelled while they are still traveling in the United States. The revocation messages indicate a foreign national may...